Know the Enemy and Know Yourself

Menu

Monthly Archives: August 2013

I enjoy getting reviews that are thought out and articulate. I don’t care if they are one star reviews.The lower the rating the more interesting the review. I will point out that a one star review with no commentary is not just rude and in bad taste, it’s also boring and shallow. The last thing in life you want to be is boring. So be articulate and witty when you comment. After all, your comment says a lot about you.

It revives my faith in humanity when someone takes the time to put digital pen to digital paper.Communication after all is the key to understanding. Discussing different points of view or philosophical observations is the spice of life.

I like this interaction best while sharing wine.

“Quickly, bring me a beaker of Wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something cleaver.” ~ Aristophanes

It revives my faith in humanity when someone takes the time to put digital pen to digital paper.

I encourage you to read the review by GM2011 and my comment to his review by clicking the link below.

1. “the mindset of evil people”
2. “If you are poor and/or ill prepared go to a FEMA camp, they’re great”
3. “If you are not in a FEMA camp, think about scavenging”
4. “Basic things that homesteaders do and will do if SHTF”

My response: (this is my opinion)

1. Instead of reading this book, read Dave Grossman and Rory Miller to get a glimpse into the psychology of war, of evil people. Get a free copy of Sun Tzu’s art of war.

2. You should prep. You should avoid FEMA camps if at all possible, if only for the fact that you not being there opens up a spot for someone else. People who would be reading this book are likely interested in prepping. There are tons of ways to prep on the cheap – in fact there are numerous blogs devoted to the subject. Pooling resources and making a tribe of like minded individuals, despite being poor is a good solution. The solution is not to encourage folks who have not prepared, but for some reason were reading a book about SHTF, to voluntarily go to a FEMA camp. Please do some research on what conditions were like in FEMA camps. In every situation it was not a good. This portion of the book, in my opinion, made me go from mildly appreciating the sophomoric analysis of evil people into severely doubting this man’s moral compass. This part ruined the book and earned a single star.

3. Scavenging. There are better books/blogs/articles out there of how to scavenge. Joe Nobody has a decent book on it. Honestly it was hard to focus on this section because I was still reading it from the standpoint of his ‘go get raped in the FEMA camp, you prepper-book-reading non-prepper idiot’ mindset. It was difficult to transition to that. And no, going to the FEMA camp with a positive mindset and will to thrive in bad situations isnt the ideal solution. Yes, having the right mindset will help you. No, going to a FEMA camp is not to be advocated as a long term survival plan.

My suggestion to the author is to greatly modify his approach to the ‘FEMA camp’ portion of his ebook. Put it at the end (or make it a different ebook altogether, sheesh), and be super clear of your intentions. If you feel like the criticism you have undoubtedly been receiving is unfair, then you have not communicated something properly. If you wish to communicate something else than what your feedback is saying, go and change your ebook. Sell it for a dollar and talk through the issues in a better way.

My Response to the review above.

I appreciate the
reviewer taking the time to add his voice to the conversation. Most do not.

It’s true. I’m not the perfect communicator. I’m also not entirely sure what
direction my moral compass will point in a complete societal collapse. I would
hope it points to the good and righteousness side of my humanity. The reviewer
is absolutely right to be cautious of my moral compass. As should everyone
finding themselves in the worst case disaster scenario I describe in my book. I
believe he has learned something very important from my book after all.

Until a person is faced with starvation or the starvation of their family
members, they do not know what direction their moral compass will point. I
could very well become the evil I warn about in my book. I have the skills and
knowledge for such nefarious behavior. We cannot know what our disaster
personality is until we are faced with said disaster.

I’ve done my research and hope never to be in a FEMA Camp. However, if
unfortunate events befall me, and I find myself in one, I’m glad to have the
knowledge I’ve shared in my book. A major part of survival, after all, is being
prepared for the things we wish to avoid. Like it or not FEMA camps will be the
only option for millions.

The reviewer is right, the book by Dave Grossman and Rory Miller go into deeper
depth about the physiology of war and evil people. If you have time, and have
an interest, I highly recommend you read their work. I also recommend reading
the book “Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson. A very short book
like mine, that you can read in about 45 minutes. It will have an amazing
impact on your outlook on life. It’s $10 more than my book, but I find the
knowledge is well worth it.

It’s true; there is an incredible amount of FREE information on the web to
search through. I also provide lots of FREE information on my (shtfartofwar)
website. My book however, was not written for the preppers and survivalists who
know it all and have all the answers. The SHTF Art of War is written as an
“immediate action” work for the humble, regular, everyday
procrastinators of the world who suddenly wake up and realize they need
important survival information now.

It’s written for those who do not have the time to sift through the massive
amounts of information in the endless blogosphere or dedicate time to reading a
lengthy book about the psychology of criminals. It’s for those who are tired of
the cookie cutter, apocalyptic fiction novel that revolves around a cast of
characters trying to get home or rebuild after an EMP or solar flare.

It’s for those who want the (4 parts paraphrased and interpreted by the
reviewer) and want it NOW.

Best of luck to you all. Except the bad guys. I hope you have no luck at all.

While the main-stream news is worried about celebrity reactions to Miley Cyrus’s VMA Porn, I prefer to keep up with current events and their back story. Especially events that have the potential to seriously effect my wellness potential. Like Russia threatening nuclear war if there’s any action on Syria.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is set to resign in order to take a new position as president of the University of California system.

Napolitano has served as head of the Homeland Security Department since 2009. She is the first woman to lead the department, which was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Before that, Napolitano served as governor of Arizona.

As DHS Secretary, Napolitano oversaw a $60 billion budget and more than 240,000 employees in several agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Napolitano regards cyber attacks crippling our infrastructure an EMP and a serious natural disaster to be our biggest impending threats. All of these by the way, would lead to a societal breakdown of some magnitude.

So it’s no big secret conspiracy of what the DHS is preparing for. It’s the same thing the “crazy” preppers and survivalists are preparing for.

SideNote: (I always find it interesting that the narrator on NatGeo’s show “Doomsday Preppers” always use the term “UNLIKELY” to play down the scenarios that the shows participants are preparing for. And yet, these are the same things our governemnt is currently prepping for.)

Warnings from U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano that enemy nations are carrying out cyber attacks on the U.S. are on the rise. Read more at:

If you haven’t read “The SHTF Art of War” yet, fear not. You can get it immediately with no waiting on KINDLE by clicking HERE.

If you do not have an E-reader, you can download a free Kindle reader App for your Smart phone, PC or tablet by clicking HERE.

Vitally important lessons here. I can’t thank mojopin12 enough for taking the time to post his video response to my video. Thank you for elaborating on this terrible tragedy and putting a personal face to this insidious crime. Please watch the video mojopin12 posted and check out his channel.

If there’s one thing that history has shown us. It’s that civilizations rise and collapsed over and over throughout time. It’s when they fall that we tend to see the ugliness of our species rise to the surface.

We’d be at the height of arrogance to think that in modern times we are immune from this rule.

If you haven’t read “The SHTF Art of War” yet, fear not. You can get it immediately with no waiting as a KINDLE DOWNLOAD. Click the image below to get your copy. It’s also available in print.

It may not be possible to avoid violence in an area where the “rule of law” has lost it’s footing. I discuss this topic in detail in the book “The SHTF Art of War”. You can get it immediately with no waiting on KINDLE at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C1PLWSQ.